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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

There is nothing I love more than babies in little beanies. The Boss rarely leaves the house without a beanie or a bow in her hair. I wanted to do a project for valentines day so I decided to make the Boss and Valentines beanie. I started from scratch making the beanie and then stencilling it.

I used one of my hubbies undershirts. I used a new one so it wasn't sweaty and so gross. He was not too pleased but I promised to buy him a new one.

I cut the hem off the bottom so I could use the rest of the shirt for another beanie later.

I measured the Boss' head and then made a rough sketch of one side of the beanie and added about an inch to the size of half her head for seam allowance. I cut two pieces for each side so 4 pieces in total.

I pinned the bottoms together and sewed 2 of the pieces together, then flipped them inside out. This will give a nice finish to the bottom of the hat.

I pinned the front of the hat and the back of the hat together then sewed up and around the top of the hat. Sewing the front and back together.

Trim the extra fabric from the seam...I am sure there is a technical name for that, but let's be honest I am a total sewing rookie.

Then I tried the hat on for fit. The Boss in constant motion, hence the blurry photo. She is playing in her pac-and-play so she is in the same place when I turn back around.

Next comes the stencilling. I found freezer paper and I am now in love.

Found an image online, printed it, traced it onto the freezer paper and cut it out.

Next, you iron the freezer paper onto your beanie. This was tricky because I wanted it on the side of the hat and over the seam so I had to work with it to get it flat.

Then I used fabric paint to paint in the lips. I used some with a sparkle because sparkly lips seemed like more fun. I used a sponge brush and then used a paper towel to dab it off because I wanted it to look more like a kiss then a solid pair of lips.

Tada! Here it is. This is just the beginning of her outfit. There will be a shirt and a photo shoot coming soon!

Monday, January 24, 2011

...was a total bust! I had purchased an end table off of Kijiji and had plans to pick it up with my Hubby after work on Friday. When I called the seller on Friday night they didn't answer...strange but no big deal. I emailed that night and called again Sunday...still nothing? Does this mean this person died...or are they just not going to sell to me? I am hoping I hear back from them tonight or tomorrow. I am so disappointed though, since I had bought the paint and planned to finish this project this weekend. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I loved this piece.

To make up for my unhappiness the hubby and I had fondue together last night while watching the two big football games. We first found fondue at a great restaurant called the Melting Pot in the USA. This is a great place to go if you want to visit all through dinner and catch up with friends. The meal start to finish takes about 2.5 hours. LOVE it! Our love for this restaurant lead my Hubby to getting me a fondue pot and then this cook book for the following valentines day. We have tried a number of different recipes in here including cheese, oil and chocolate. As you can image chocolate is our go too. Amazing!!!!

Our go to is called S'mores. Healthy right? Hahah these are just our dippers.

Here is what makes this so AMAZING, terrible for you. I can't believe I am pointing this out but, we start with chocolate chips, add a small amount of whipping cream (helps melt the chips and keep it creamy), add a scoop of fluff, and a few crushed graham crackers. Great right?

Mix it together as it melts

Tada!

So the weekend wasn't a total bust. The fondu, or "FUN-DU" as we like to call it, made up for a lot of the disappointment. I also took on a different project for the Boss which I am excited about and I will be posting later today or tomorrow! How was your weekend?

Thursday, January 20, 2011

About 3 months ago, the Boss had a choking incident that earned her a one way ride in an ambulance to our local hospital. She was the second member of our family to ever ride in an ambulance and did it at the tender age of 4 months old. There is nothing worse than getting a call that your baby is being taken to the hospital, let alone via ambulance. Luckily she was fine and we are still working with her pediatrician to figure out the cause of a choking incident that happened laying on the floor completely supervised 2 hours after eating. This strange and scary situation got my sister, mother of two, and I talking about how silly it is that we don't even know what to do if something was to happen to our babies. Aside from calling 911 and going into complete hysterics we are useless.

Last night we took care of this. My Mom, my sister and I all took a Child and Infant CPR course through the Parks and Recreation department where we live. For $50, we are now fully equipped, and licenced, to save our children's lives. While the licencing part was not at all important to us, it gave us the piece of mind that our course was a certified program.

One of the reasons people don't take the course is because they are afraid. Going into the class my Mom was terrified and kept saying "I will come, but I am going to be scared". What the course reinforced over and over is how easy it is. We left the class feeling confident that in an emergency situation we would be calm, instead of hysterical, and could react as need be. Even my Mom felt comfortable knowing what to do in an emergency situation. The course was completely hands on using actar dummies to practice our technique. They creeped me out just a little but as our instructor said the point of practicing, as a pose to reading about it, is hopefully your body will react without thinking. You will remember doing it and just do what needs to be done.

If you are a Mother, Aunt, Grandmother or someone who just loves children I highly recommend taking this course. I found this more helpful and informative then pre-natal classes. Please contact your Recreation and community programming for a class near you!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

To all my Wanna Be Momma's....your day is coming so please don't be discouraged! I know that there is nothing that can be said or done during this time to make it easier but I love you lots and pray that you will all one day experience love, in the form of a baby.

In the meantime, while you are trying (that's the fun part right?), you have time to check out all the different ideas others have tried when decorating their own nursery. While I LOVE the Boss' nursery, the DIYer in me thinks I could have done something just as cool and possibly more unique on a way smaller budget. Check out this AMAZING crib transformation by Brooke at All Things Thrifty. With a unique take on the on the tufted headboard, she made this average crib stylish and cozy for her baby on the way. The best part...she did it for about $40. That means, any of you Momma's looking for a crib now or in the future, could buy one second hand on Kijiji or Craigslist for less than half the price in retail stores and make it this beautiful for your new bundle. Check this project out in full detail here.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I am loving this new show Hosted by Kelly Ripa on TLC. It airs Friday nights and I am blown away by the inventions that some of these women come up with. They have a huge opportunity to present their inventions not to mention the winner gets to sell their product on HSN.

Isn't this the dream???

To earn millions from your home?

To provide for your family without any worries?

To do what you love, and love what you do?

We are currently struggling with this. I am 7 months into my one year maternity leave and the hubby and I are trying to decide what the next steps are. Do I go back to work full time and put the Boss in daycare or do I stay at home with her and try working from home? Both scenarios have their pros and cons, and while there is no clear answer we are talking about all our options.

What do you do from home to supplement your income? Do you have an idea to make yourself a homemade millionaire?

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

I have had my eye on the Atoll Mirror, from Ballard Designs. I love the shape of it but it is not really in the budget right now.

So you can imagine my excitement when I found this frame at my favourite thrift store.

I am by no means saying this frame replaces the beautiful Atoll Mirror, but the shape is whimsical, similar to the Atoll Mirror. The best part of this frame is that it was only $4. Here's the transformation.

It's painted and hanging on the wall in our bedroom. I am not done with this project, still considering adding another frame/frames OR possibly our initial in the middle. Yet another project for our not yet completed bedroom make-over. Don't worry we haven't been living in a DIY for the last 7 months, I just haven't completed the finishing touches yet, but one day soon I will reveal the entire bedroom. Until then, here is DIY frame for the books.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

I completed my first project from my Simply Sewing book I got for Christmas. If there is one thing babies love it's the silky tags on blankets and stuffed animals. I often find the Boss with her stuffed babies upside down and the washing instructions in her mouth. This is what inspired the tag blankie to be my first project. This small blankie is easy to take with you and if your OCD like me you can make sure it's always clean by throwing it in the wash machine. All you need is a small amount of fabric and some different colours of ribbon. I was pretty happy with how it turned out. As I was working on it I thought about all the different combinations you could do or stencil your babies initial to make it more personal. I already have my second one cut out, pinned and ready to be sewn for another special baby girl I know.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Between a very sick Boss and travelling I didn't have a lot of time to do any DIY or decorating over the Christmas holidays. I did however, get a few minutes to release my creative juices while in Florida with my in-laws. My Father-in-law, Sister-in-law and I went out and painted pottery one afternoon. I had no idea how relaxing painting pottery could be, not to mention you walk away with a beautiful piece to remind you of your efforts. I decided to make the Boss a bowl as we are starting food and it seems that everything I do is for her. The bowl isn't perfect, but I am pretty happy with how it turned out given it was my first time doing something like this. What do you think?

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

I took a short break from blogging over the Christmas holidays due to a very sick baby and travelling to Florida and back. We got in late last night and I am currently in the process of rescuing my living room from Christmas craziness. We came home long enough to drop off all our presents from one Christmas and pack our bags for a week in Florida to visit the in-laws and celebrate Christmas there. Mix that with a sick baby who wasn't sleeping much at night and you get....one of the BEST Christmas' we've ever had!!!! Even though the Boss was sick she was a trooper and we had so much fun!

There is so much to blog about and I have a thousand new projects to work on but I wanted to share a few of my gifts that will kick 2011 off on a great foot.

I got this book "Simple Sewing for Baby" by Lotta Jansdotter. I am so excited about it. There are a number of projects in this book that I have had my eye on for the Boss. One of which is the alphabet. I am going to try and make her the entire Alphabet. I am also excited about a second diaper bag, a dress, and some cute baby accessories. Stay tuned!

This book inspired my first trip to Hobby Lobby in Florida where I purchased some AMAZING fabric at a great price. Hobby Lobby has officially been added to my must visit stores when in the USA. I'd show off the fabric but it's currently being washed so it's ready for my first project!

One of my other favourite gifts was this tool set my parents bought me!

My very own tool set! The best part is that it's all pink! I cannot wait to put this to work. This affirms my DIY desires. Those I love have confidence in me that I can create wonderful things. Now it's time to get to work and not disappoint!

I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday season! May 2011 bring you much excitement, happiness and new projects!